A Reasonably Sound Inference
It was a reasonably sound inference.
If only the royal family bore the form of rabbits, then the odds were high that Genus looked like a rabbit as well. And hadn't they said he was a mage?
Genus—the name Sirius had worn his tongue raw repeating. The boy had insisted Genus was the finest mage in the Underground Kingdom, and the man was currently missing. For a coincidence, the pieces locked together far too neatly.
Genus was still alive.
So the one who bred those chimeras and stationed them in the cave was Genus, then.
He seemed to have tried to hog the whole event for himself.
The difficulty must have been a big part of it, too.
Two extra people had been enough to send the difficulty soaring, and the fact that they were in a party had done plenty of the work as well.
The rewards got bigger because of it, so more participants is actually a good thing.
Of course, that assumption only meant anything if he could clear an EX-Rank trial.
Yujun called up the hologram message he had left hanging while he listened.
The player may choose one of the two.
1. Topple the Empire (EX)
2. Join forces with the Empire and repel the invasion of the Second Foreign Power(???)
Depending on the player's choice, the clear rewards may differ greatly.
The system message meant exactly what it said. There were two choices, and picking the harder one would earn the better reward.
But... which one is actually easier?
Going by the wording alone, the second option looked easier. Even at this distance, the Empire's power was unmistakable. A common soldier's strength was already absurd, and the knights and mages went without saying. Join forces with an empire like that, and it would feel like gaining a mighty host.
What nagged at him was the difficulty marked with question marks.
And they didn't give me a single scrap of information on the Second Foreign Power. That's suspicious, too...
His gamer's instinct said option two would be far harder.
If two is the hard one... then I should pick two.
He had meant to take the harder road from the start, if only for the rewards.
A question-mark difficulty makes me a little uneasy, but...
He hoped it really was that difficult. What worried Yujun was the chance that option two was the easy path.
It won't be.
He decided to trust his gut.
Still... do I have to move in person?
He couldn't simply press the floating choice and pick it on the spot. It seemed he would have to decide through his own actions.
The problem was that the Empire might not be friendly toward him. The odds of that were high.
Should I just sweep the whole Empire away?
No. He had to hold back, if he wanted the greater reward.
A good idea occurred to him.
I'll squeeze some items out of the Empire.
If he was going to join forces with them anyway, he might as well wring out everything he could get. Whether it would work, he didn't know—but there was no harm in trying.
Yujun checked over the gear he was wearing and started walking. Manuela, Paranet, and Tapagol followed behind.
Feels like I'm hauling way too much luggage around back there.
Paranet and Tapagol especially. Those two stood out far too much.
"You two, get back in."
"Yes?!"
"If this goes well, I'll summon you later."
"As you command..."
Paranet vanished of his own accord, smooth as anything. Yujun unsummoned Tapagol and turned the thought over.
The more I look at Paranet, the stranger he gets.
How could he unsummon himself? He hadn't even cast spatial magic. Summoning and dismissing a familiar ought to be tied to the system.
Don't think too hard about it.
It would only give him a headache, and he had a mountain of things to do right now.
Yujun and Manuela were walking slowly toward the barracks and tents when he felt a presence closing in fast. Yujun drew his sword from its sheath. He looked up, and there was a player in the sky—a rabbit beastfolk wrapped in a red cloak.
"A beastfolk?"
"And you are... human?"
They nodded at each other.
"Genus, right?"
"...How do you know my name?"
"One look was enough."
"...Well. I am famous in the kingdom, so I suppose it is not strange that you would recognize me."
"Right."
"What is a human doing here?"
"Came for the trial."
"...So you were the intruder."
"If there's a suspicious cave, you go in. Isn't that obvious for a player?"
"What became of the chimeras?"
"All of them got half-split."
"Half-split?"
"Split in half, and dead."
"...Did we have a phrase like that in our kingdom?"
"Figures you wouldn't know it. It's only trending among humans these days."
Even after Yujun said the chimeras had been wiped out, Genus wore an air of perfect indifference.
"Then you are not of the Underground Kingdom."
"Obviously."
Genus let out a heavy sigh.
"Do you have any idea of the position you have placed me in?"
"What happened?"
"The Empire's forces grew so overwhelmingly powerful that I was forced to retreat with the Extreme Ice Stone right before my eyes."
"Right before your eyes?"
"A manner of speaking. I mean I had nearly reached it."
"You do love your exaggeration. Anyway, why'd you come looking for me?"
"Because the trial has become hopelessly difficult. Seeing that you have made it this far, you can hardly be an ordinary fighter. I judged that we ought to join hands."
"With me? The trial got harder because of me, didn't it? You're not resentful?"
At that, Genus gave a bitter smile.
"Resentment would do nothing for me as I am now. What is more, there is a very real chance of becoming trapped inside the trial. I cannot let mere feeling ruin everything. That is why I am asking for your help."
"Think you can trust me?"
"Trust has nothing to do with it. If we do not combine our strength, the trial can never be cleared."
"Why so certain?"
"Because I have faced the soldiers myself. They are nothing like the ones before. They feel at least dozens of times stronger. With my ability, even two or three knights are now more than I can handle."
"Oh, really? Then what about them?"
Yujun pointed somewhere with a finger. Genus turned his head to look, but there was nothing there.
"Them? Are you mocking me?"
"Look again."
Clack. Clink.
The scrape of metal came irregularly. It wasn't loud, but it was enough for everyone present to hear. Genus's eyes went wide.
"...Don't tell me those are knights."
"Looks like it. The armor's pretty cool, though."
Dozens of knights were closing in, every piece of armor and helm painted black. When they had drawn near enough, Genus went pale with shock.
"A-are you mad? Those are no ordinary knights."
"Huh? If they're not ordinary knights, what are they?"
"The Black Knight Order. Even before the difficulty rose, each of them was close to a match for a hundred men. Facing several at once was too much for me. All I could do was drive them off with debuff magic, and barely."
"They'd be even stronger now, then?"
"...Unfortunately, yes."
"Why unfortunately? It just means our teammates are strong."
"..."
At first Genus didn't grasp what Yujun meant. Then it hit him, and his mouth fell open.
"Don't tell me you chose the second option."
"Haven't chosen yet. I'm planning to, though."
"...That is madness."
"Why?"
"Repelling the foreign invasion was SSS-Rank difficulty. Toppling the Empire was S-Rank. It may look like a gap of only two ranks, but the difference is far greater than it appears."
"Huh? For me, toppling the Empire came up as EX-Rank."
"...What?"
"And repelling the foreign invasion didn't even have a difficulty displayed."
Thanks to Genus, one thing was now certain. The second option was the harder one.
Yujun made his decision. He would stop the foreign invasion, no matter what, and he laid that out for Genus.
Needless to say, Genus blew straight past disbelief and into rage.
"Have you lost your mind? Or do you simply have no fear? Is your life so cheap that dying does not matter to you?"
"Hey, it's my life. I'll look after it myself."
"If you die, the odds of clearing this trial drop to zero. You know that, don't you?"
"I know."
"And still you mean to side with the Empire?"
"Yep."
"I should like to hear the reason."
"The reward's bigger."
"...That is your only reason?"
"What other reason would there be?"
Utterly unfazed. Even that fell short of the Yujun Genus was looking at. Either that, or the man had monstrous confidence in his own skill. But no matter how Genus looked at it, it was nothing but arrogance. Joining forces, they might—might—be able to topple the Empire, and he meant to walk a path that was obviously several times harder?
No. Now he had learned that even the first option had become EX-Rank. There was no hope.
"You truly mean to side with the Empire? To challenge something several times more difficult?"
"Yep."
"You are mad. I am out. I have no desire to throw my life away on a fool's errand."
At the meaningful line Yujun left hanging, Genus snorted.
In the meantime, the Black Knight Order arrived.
"That's the one."
"Yeah. The rabbit we let slip earlier."
"Did they say to capture him?"
"Mm. Said not to kill him, though."
"Easy."
Twenty black knights, at least. The pressure rolling off them was no joke. Just standing there, they made the air itself tremble.
Guys that strong, and they're just knights?
He didn't know whether this place was a virtual space or not, but the knights' martial power was beyond reason. Genus must have felt it keenly too. Cold sweat was pouring off him.
"Look. Side with the Empire, and things far stronger than them come crashing in. Still no change of heart?"
Yujun cut him off in a single word.
"Nope."
"...A reckless human."
"If you really can't believe me, watch and judge for yourself. I'm not asking you to fight right now."
"What do you—"
Yujun stepped forward.
"What are you?"
"A human?"
The black knights looked him up and down. Armor alone was enough for them to decide he wouldn't be an easy opponent. Every one of them drew a spear, a shield, a sword.
"Huh? You're all orcs?"
The Empire's Black Knight Order was made up of orcs—not the sort one usually saw, of course. Their faces were humanlike, marked by an orc's broad flat nose, fierce glaring eyes, and thick lips.
They look like half-orcs.
Yujun glanced back.
"Genus. Were the regular soldiers orcs too?"
"They were."
"Got it."
So the Empire was an empire of orcs. It didn't matter either way. The moment he had settled on the second option, these people were not enemies.
Subdue them. Don't kill.
Kill even one, and turning his relationship with the Empire friendly could become very difficult. Keeping that in mind, Yujun walked forward.
"He's lost the last scrap of fear."
"A human dares..."
Then the captain of the Black Knight Order spoke.
"All of you, calm yourselves. It has been a truly long time since we have seen a human. This one is pretty enough—let us make him our slave and torment him to our hearts' content."
"Yes, sir!"
"A human slave! Buhuhut!"
"Hey. Hold on."
Yujun's brow furrowed.
"Were you talking about me?"
"Talking about what?"
"Calling me pretty."
"That's right. You're quite the delicate, handsome thing. Ah, I'll thank you in advance. Thanks to you, our company will be enjoying a pleasant night tonight."
"Sick bastards."
His skin crawled. Not just the urge to fight—the urge to kill. Were these perverts even filthier than Miura Genshin? And every last one of the orcs was male. They meant to take him by force. He couldn't let that stand.
I'll have to teach them a lesson with the sealing orb.
Yujun took out the Absolute Sealing Orb.
"Oh?"
Now that he thought about it, the one currently locked inside the Absolute Sealing Orb was none other than Colchi, an orc.
What a ridiculous coincidence.
Yujun immediately released the seal on Colchi—someone with a fair chance of hitting it off with the black knights.